Connection
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"Well? How is she?" He asked. Maki saw the reflection of Daigo appear in the window to her office.
She looked through the reflection to the girl laying still unconscious on the little couch. The boy, the alternate goggle head, was sitting next to her, watching over her. The other children were confined, their digimon, likewise. There was a commotion they had wanted very badly to retrieve the other Chosen Ones. They had made threats they couldn't make good on, and now they were contained for the moment, to let things cool down.
"Still out." Maki said quietly, she narrowed her eyes. "The others?"
"The Ichijouji boy has got them tacitly calmed down, but that Takashi boy still has some kind of fire in his eyes." Daigo said. "Not that they can do anything. Whatever's going on in the Digital World, it's gotta be wild. I've never seen the barrier like this, and the digital portals are all over the place…it's almost like when that phase-shifty thing that was going on last year."
"It's her." Maki said narrowing her eyes. "Something has happened, something big, and she's done. She's done playing chess, she's putting on her boxing gloves and showing up to the ring personally…"
"What about the ones that are in the Digital World?" Daigo asked. "The other kids, the kidnapped ones, showed up suddenly, even that Wallace kid, finally, but not the six Chosen Ones that went in to rescue him…are they ok?"
"It's hard to say." Maki said, closing her eyes as she leaned her head on the wall. Even now, after so many years, after becoming an adult, she could still sense the being when it made its appearance known, that's why she came to the room with the kids in it. Maki opened her eyes and watched as the alternate goggle boy held the unconscious girl's hand. "Whatever is going on, it's clear that homeostasis has given up caring…I can't remember her being this, brutal, to her host."
"You weren't awake for when it was." Daigo said, his voice that consoling voice. A joking smile played on his lips. His joking smile faded to a concerned grimace. "To think these kids, we were just like them…once."
"Maybe, but they never faced the dragons…like we did." Maki said quietly, looking through the window. "Alone…"
Maki closed her eyes. She remembered, the dragons…
888
"Daigo, watch out!" Junpei screamed as the flames roared down.
Junpei pushed Daigo into a outcropping of rocks. Daigo looked to Maki, but Maki could only look forward. Junpei's bulk disappeared in brick-red crimson flames. The twin headed turtle was smashed into the mountain side as Megidramon roared savagely overhead.
"Akiko, Kentaro, you have to jump to us!" Daigo shouted.
Maki's eyes flitted over across the chasm on the other rocky outcropping a thin boy, and a girl were cowering. Holydramon and Goddramon were raging above them with Zhuquiaomon and Baihumon. Azulongmon was firing bolts down as Megidramon fired flames up at the blue dragon. The girl ran to the edge of the rocky outcropping. She prepared to jump.
"Hell's Howling!" A savage roar came on high.
Daigo leapt onto Maki, driving her and the little digimon she held down to the ground. Maki fought Daigo pushing her head up. She would grow to regret doing that, as she watched Akiko's flesh age, wither crack and heard it creak as it cracked at its edges bleeding rusty dust as the wind from the roar swept the girl away as a cloud of ancient dust.
"Summon Amon The Destroyer!" Goddramon's left arm blazed blue as a dragon headed serpent slithered down from on high and struck Kentaro in the back.
The skinny boy's brown eyes boiled blue as his entire body was lifted from the ground and vaporized into thousands of electrically charged particles that smelled so horribly of fried meat. Maki gasped loudly, holding her mouth, trying to prevent the aerosolized particles from getting in. It would be months before she would ever eat meat, or bare to be near the cooking of it again.
Zhuquiaomon and Baihumon were driven to the ground by Goddramon. Ebonwumon was pinned to the valley by Holydramon. Megidramon and Azulongmon still wrestled in the sky but as lightning and fire battled in the sky the flames were burning hotter than the lightning was bright. Daigo looked up and then back to Maki.
She felt it before, in the darkness of the caves. When they had been tortured by nightmare visages of the Shadramon. That burning light that cut through the dark that had led them to the people that would show them how to use the crests. Now she felt it again that presence that light. She looked to see Daigo backing away. She looked down. the little In-training digimon a silly looking creature with large fringe ears and a funny pair of triangles impressed on its head. Its wide eyes staring at her in wonder. She felt her arms moving without her control as the Great Dragons roared in all their ferocity.
"It is time-" the voice said from within, and then from without. Maki turned, mentally to see a reflection of herself looking at her. "The battle is nearly over-"
"They're dead!" Maki said, crying and trying to point to where the other children had been.
"Necessary, it was always an estimated risk." the reflection said.
"Estimated risk!?" Maki screamed. "Is that what you see us as, sacrifices, pawns?"
"For the greater good, for evolution to occur, some must fall." The reflection replied, nonplussed. It looked beyond her and upwards. "The Great Dragons are a threat, now that they know another world exists, they will wage endless war to control it and purge it of what they see as a virulent pestilence. They must be contained."
"But they are too strong, you saw; they killed Junpei, Akiko, Kentaro, there's just the two of us left!" Maki screamed, tears were metaphorically falling from her cheeks as the entity has full control of her actual body.
"There is a way." The entity said. Maki felt her head turn and her eyes fall on Calumon. "The catalyst will engage in one last effort…"
"You can't!" Maki screamed. "The last time nearly killed him! This one…"
Maki stopped, the being need not explain its plan. She could see that it was fully aware of the conditions, and it cared not one bit for the result of this new assault. Maki watched as Calumon morphed into a Salamon and then to a Nefertimon and then an Angewomon. The three Great Dragons looked down in annoyed shock and in that moment the restrained Sovereigns wrested away to their freedom as Angewomon, only half-solidified, burned towards them.
"NO!" Maki screamed to no effect as the entity kept a strong hold on her body. She watched as the Sovereigns glowed and were drawn in. There was a blinding golden radiance.
The strain of it the entity's control, her attempts to free herself, Maki couldn't see the rest of it. She awoke to Daigo sitting next to her, his small hand clasped around hers. They were back, in the real world, in the middle of the campground.
888
"Hello?" Hikari felt cold and alone and in the dark.
The last thing she remember was that energy. She'd felt it a few times, and sometimes it still whispered to her in the dark. Never anything she could quite comprehend always hushed whispers, it had always felt comforting. Now, though, it was dark and cold and silent. She could feel a warmth on her hand. She looked down but could see no obvious source of the heat but she felt compelled to close her hand around it as if to hold it close to her, so as to not let go. She had to find her big brother, Daisuke, the others, the Digital World was in danger.
The world was gray and fuzzy but nonetheless she could make out Daisuke's smiling face. His hand was tightly gripping hers. As she tried to sit up he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She gasped in shock as he nearly crushed her to death.
"You're awake!" Daisuke cheered. "You've been out for a while! I didn't know what was going on!"
"Where…where are?" Hikari started as she looked around the unfamiliar room.
"Psycho government lady's office." Daisuke said finally releasing Hikari and jumping up.
As he did so the door to the office opened a woman walked in, Hikari recognized her from the Kuramon situation; she'd helped that strange Dr. Smith. The woman turned a chair around and sat in it. Behind her was Taichi's weird teacher, Mr. Nishijima.
"How are you?" Mr. Nishijima asked.
"My head…hurts…" Hikari said flooded with new sensations. "What-what happened?"
"The homeostasis entity possessed your body and then abruptly departed." The woman said as she took out a pen light and shined it in Hikari's eyes. "The psychic trauma rendered you unconscious."
"Where are the others…?" Hikari winced.
"These two locked them up!" Daisuke growled, glaring at the adults. "And our digimon."
"You threatened to rush into the Digital World, you threatened us with physical harm, using your digimon." The woman said sharply. "You were contained for your own safety…"
"My brother's locked up?" Hikari said shaking her head. "No, he was already in the Digital World, they were going to get…"
"Wallace-" Daisuke said his tough guy face fading to one of concern. "Yeah, that…"
"The older Chosen Children are still in the Digital World." Mr. Nishijima said almost apologetically. "Some kind of…"
"An anomaly has disrupted the digital portal system, we're looking into a work around." The woman said cutting off the man. Daisuke narrowed his eyes and glared at the woman.
"You wouldn't let us go get them, even to try!" Daisuke shouted.
"Because the portals are unstable." The woman replied, sharply. "Mr. Nishijima-"
"I'm afraid Ms. Himekawa is correct, in that the portals don't look safe for travel." Mr. Nishijima said, without much confidence.
"Something's not right." Hikari said, closing her eyes. "Something is wrong…the world…the light…"
"You're still connected, aren't you?" Ms. Himekawa asked as she came closer, kneeling in front of Hikari.
"Oi!" Daisuke growled, but the woman glared at him and he backed down almost immediately.
Hikari felt the woman grasp her head and look deep into her eyes. "The possession, it's a two way street, you know that, right? Sometimes, you can hear it, even when it's not talking to you. Can't you?"
"Always whispering, louder in my sleep, in my dreams, but I can never understand the words unless its talking to me." Hikari replied as she felt her head being jostled left and right as Ms. Himekawa inspected her.
"The dreamscape is where this thing mostly exists, it rarely fully materializes in the physical dimensions." Ms. Himekawa said almost offhandedly. "The universe doesn't have enough RAM to fully load it. If it ever fully materialized the universe's frame rate would crash…"
"You know an awful lot about this thing for an adult!" Daisuke grumbled, crossing his arms.
"It's my job to understand the other world to protect the humans living in this world from the other world's most dangerous agents." Ms. Himekawa returned, without giving Daisuke as much as a look. "Unlike someone like you, I'm not graced with destiny filling in the blanks for me." Ms. Himekawa held Hikari's head in her hands and closed her eyes. "If you focus you can hear it, your connection is astounding, you may even be able to influence it. I know it's hard; it hurts, I know, but Ms. Yagami, you're the only connection we've got…please…"
Hikari looked at Ms. Himekawa and then to Daisuke. Daisuke looked at her; he smiled weakly.
"I know you can do it…" Daisuke said, she felt him take her hand.
Hikari swallowed slightly. "I-I'll try…"
888
"Something's not right." Miyako said her eyes narrowed as she sat leaning against against the heavy desk in the middle of the office they were locked in. "He's been gone too long. Hikari didn't look good when they took her, and that Mr. Nishijima didn't look too pleased when he got Daisuke."
"Daisuke is with her, he'll go to whatever lengths are necessary to protect her." Ken replied, he was sitting on a small futon couch in the office; elbows braced against his knees his hands held together in front of him as he sat slightly bent forward.
"The real issue is with the others trapped in the Digital World…" Takeru said, the blonde haired boy was standing against a wall in the corner, his torso covered his shadow but the deep frown and sharp eyes were obvious from the outside.
"Takeru-" Iori said, the youngest boy looked to Takeru.
"He's right." Ken said quietly. The dark haired boy's eyes narrowed. "I'm not Koushiro but I have some familiarity with how the Digital World functions…what I saw on those monitors wasn't good."
"Even more reason for us to go in break out our digimon, and get the others!" Miyako said jumping from the office chair she was sitting in.
"How?" Ken asked, almost venomously. "We'd have to find our digimon. We'd have to find Hikari and Daisuke, and then the barrier is crazy unstable, the digi-ports probably aren't even viable. We don't even know what the hell we're facing on the other side. If whatever it is has 'compromised the Chosen Ones' we may be facing off against the people we're trying to save!"
"It doesn't matter!" Takeru growled. The blonde emerged from the shadows, his blue eyes blazing. Ken leapt to his feet as Takeru grabbed him. "Matt, Sora, the others are in there. We can't just leave them! They are expecting us to save them, that was the whole damned point of us staying behind!"
"I realize that, Takeru." Ken said calmly but with a tinge of annoyance. He looked straight into Takeru's eyes. "But what good are we if we are shredded across the void between worlds because the barrier decides to slam the digi-port closed as we're transiting it? What good are we if as soon as we arrive we're obliterated by some kind of super monster? We already have faced off against one Ultra digimon in the last two months, what if there's an entire army of them?"
"We're their last hope! I refuse to believe we quit, just because the logistics aren't right!" Takeru growled, his grip on the front of Ken's shirt tightened. He gritted his teeth together. "Matt's my brother! If I lose him…If…"
"We'll get him back." Iori said, the youngest boy put his hand gently on Takeru's arm. Takeru pursed his lips and pushed Ken away and started to walk away. Iori's hand slid and caught Takeru's and gripped it. Takeru stopped and turned to Iori. The youngest boy looked up at Takeru earnestly. "We'll find a way, we just have to be patient….I'm sure there's a way."
"What we need to do is find a way to get out of here." Miyako said, nodding in assurance.
"We've been able to get out of here for a while." Ken said quietly. He reached into the side pocket of his pants and pulled out a small metal container. "The lock isn't complicated I can have it picked in a couple minutes…"
"You - you could've…we've sat here and you..you!" Takeru started to growl as he pulled himself from Iori and started to charge towards Ken. His fist clenched. Takeru swung his fist and within a few seconds he found himself laying on the ground.
"We all needed some time to cool down." Ken said breathing a little hard, his arms wrapped around Takeru's arm. He pinned his knee onto Takeru's chest as the blonde struggled in vain. "They have Hikari, they have Daisuke, who knows what they'll do with them if we tried to do something rash. If they wanted us properly contained they'd have locked us in a better cell, they'd have confiscated our belongings, don't you think? This tells me that they aren't exactly working on the orders of UNIT, it also tells me they are just as baffled by all of this as we are. The fact they aren't working under UNIT orders means they probably aren't bound by the rules of law that a UNIT officer would be, and they aren't necessarily thinking things through because they are confused and thinking emotionally. But we have to have a plan before we proceed, we have to know what the hell is going on before we go blazing in! This is a military facility for crying out loud! Any one of us could easily get killed by a bullet if they really thought we were a threat!"
"Oh my god…you're right…" Miyako slumped down into the chair behind the desk. "As far as anyone knows we could've been captured by the Digital World, they could kill us and no one would ever find us…never even think…"
"Now's not the time for histrionics, Miyako!" Ken growled through gritted teeth, glaring back at the girl.
Ken slowly pulled away from Takeru. He extended his hand to Takeru, but the blonde slapped away and stood up, dusting himself off and crossed his arms as he walked over to his corner.
"So we can get out of here." Iori said taking a deep breath as if to sweep past what just had happened. "So then do you have a plan?"
"If we knew where our digimon were…" Ken said quietly.
"Which we don't because we've been trapped in here." Takeru pointed out.
Ken shot a glare to Takeru. He narrowed his eyes and looked forward again, and started thinking aloud.
"They can't be far," Ken said quietly, "but they'd have to be in a vault or a…"
"Great so we have to crack into a bank vault…" Takeru grumbled sarcastically.
"You aren't exactly helping here!" Ken growled back.
"Face it, you don't have a plan!" Takeru returned loudly.
"Guys - please, don't start fighting again…" Iori whispered as the two older boys started to shout at one another.
The door handle to the office jangled. The kids turned and looked as the door swung open. Wormmon, Hawkmon, Patamon and Armadillomon leapt through the open door. Behind them, Daisuke and Veemon stood. Daisuke smugly rubbing his nose and smiling.
"Daisuke!" Miyako yelped as she hugged Hawkmon. "You saved us!"
"You're back." Ken said as he held Wormmon.
"Yeah, Kari's awake." Daisuke said smiling. "Daigo and that Himekawa chick are helping her get in contact with that glowy thing…they told me to come get you all, said you'd been in time-out long enough."
Ken shook his head he walked to Daisuke and hugged him tightly. Ken then half whispered in Daisuke's ear. "You are still a miracle…"
"Dude…" Daisuke said blushing.
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"Absolutely not!" Daigo growled as he glared at Maki.
"It's the only way." Maki whispered as she looked over to the girl who was talking gently to the beige puppy kitten sitting in her lap. "She's too….nice…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daigo said as he walked to the door, opening it and holding it for Maki as she left the office. Daigo closed the door behind.
"She won't force the connection." Maki said, sharply. "Shakamon is a being that has an immense mindscape, lots of defenses, if we're going to get into it she's going to have to push, and she refuses."
"And I suppose you think you can provide that push?" Daigo said crossing his arms.
"Of course!" Maki said, sharply. She looked through the window of the door and looked at the girl.
"Of course that means you think you can even do anything." Daigo said shaking his head. "You still think you can connect to this homeostasis thing…"
"My affinity for it is less, but this girl's connection to it is beyond anything I was ever capable of even as a child, even when that thing was hijacking my body." Maki said as she looked through the window. "I think with enough help I can use her to bridge the gap."
"Yeah and then what?" Daigo asked looking at Maki. Maki didn't look to him for a minute. Daigo narrowed his eyes and grabbed Maki's arm and she looked to him. Daigo asked again. "Then what?"
"I think that we can create a conduit to allow for us to physically reach the other six kids and extract them." Maki said tersely.
"Ok, what then?" Daigo asked.
"We get the kids out."
"And you, what about you, what about the girl?" Daigo asked, his grip tightening.
"Everyone comes home." Maki said, her eyes narrowing.
"Do they?" Daigo asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Maki growled.
"You've been obsessed with returning to the Digital World, since we got back." Daigo hissed quietly. "I had thought you'd given up after you saw what happened to that Oikawa fellow, a couple of years back…he nearly destroyed both worlds, nearly plunged us all into darkness. Nearly got millions killed in that digimon invasion."
"They are still in that world." Maki said looking up at Daigo. "I know it, they have to be, nothing in the Digital World dies, it just gets reborn…"
"That's not true, that's not how it works, and you know it." Daigo said, shaking his head. "Things can die in the Digital World just as well as here…they are gone, lost…"
"Nothing's lost until its forgotten." Maki said, glaring up at Daigo. "That's what Dr. Smith says. If there's anywhere that's true it's the Digital World, and if there's anything that can make it true it's Shakamon."
"I knew it." Daigo said, pursing his lips. He closed his eyes and released his grip on Maki. "I know you took it hard, but it's been over a decade, you have to…"
"I watched them, Daigo…" Maki said. "I watched them burn…and you want me to get over it?"
"You have to keep going to forward, you can't keep looking back-" Daigo said.
"I am going forward, if I can get into Shakamon, I can bring them back, Daigo." Maki said looking at him with hopeful eyes, moistening with tears. "I can save them from the fire! This could be the only shot we get at this!"
"No!" Daigo said shaking his head. "We'll find another way to extract the trapped kids."
"There's no other way." Maki said, she closed her eyes and when they opened they were hard and business-like. "You know that there's no way any of the established portals between this world and the Digital World will be safe. If you don't let me try, those six kids are going to die or worse. Can you really let more kids die in the Digital World, when you could've done something? How much blood can you wash your hands with, Daigo?"
"Those deaths aren't on me." Daigo said with a growl. "I can't believe you'd even… If you think I don't remember them, if you don't think I have the same cold sweats at night, remembering those screams, that boiling flesh…How dare-"
"Let me try, Daigo." Maki said, grabbing his hands, and looking into his eyes. "Let me keep these kids from seeing their friends die. Let me save them, I can do it…please."
Daigo closed his eyes, and sighed loudly. "Fine, but only extract the kids in the Digital World, don't you dare fiddle more with Shakamon…get in, get out, no extra stuff."
Maki nodded. Daigo grumbled and turned and opened the door to the office. He looked up to see the other kids walking towards them from down the hall.
"I'll explain it to them when they come in." Maki said as she walked into the room.
"Don't make me regret this." Daigo said.
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"So, you can make mental contact with this…Shakamon?" Ken furrowed his brow as he looked at Ms. Himekawa.
"More than that." The woman said quietly as she entwined her fingers. "I believe with Ms. Yagami can create a conduit between this world and the Digital World with my help, and we can use that to get the others out."
"This sounds…" Salamon's large eyes narrowed almost reminding the others that she was still Gatomon inside. "Fishy…"
"You're just hungry." Veemon said with a smile. The smile disappeared as Salamon's eyes sliced over the little, blue dragon.
"Shakamon is a being of myth and legend, you can't just hop into her brain." Salamon said her normally floppy ears flattened against her head. "Even if you could…"
"I think Ms. Himekawa is on to something." Hikari said quietly. Salamon looked up shocked as Hikari looked around to the other kids. She took a deep breath. "I can hear her-it, this is the loudest I've ever heard the voice when it isn't talking to me directly, even when it possesses me it's like it shoves me into a side closet while it borrows my body."
"Shakamon's coalescing as we speak. This will represent the best chance we have to do this." Ms. Himekawa said, dropping her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I fear if we don't act now there won't be a chance to act later."
The kids looked up at the woman.
"Is it really that bad?" Takeru asked looking from the woman to the man.
"It's…" Mr. Nishijima started.
"The barrier is shredded, the Digital World is experiencing unprecedented trauma." The woman said as she stood up. "Whatever is going on over there, it's prompted Shakamon to show up personally, that's never happened before and I'm not entirely sure the world could take it if it did."
The woman sat at the end of a couch in the office. She indicated the seat next to her and Hikari slowly got up and put Salamon on the chair she had been sitting on. She walked tentatively to the couch and sat down. The woman nodded as she held out her hand. Hikari reached out and grasped it.
"Are you sure we can do it?" Hikari whispered.
"Just like I told you, close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and listen…" Maki replied as she several deep breaths. "When you hear the voice, go to it, and grab the sound…"
Hikari closed her eyes and took deep breaths. The muscles around her eyes tensed as she slowly breathed quietly. For several minutes nothing seemed to happened, but then slowly a glow formed around Hikari. The light shimmered and grew in strength. It flowed from the girl to the woman. Ms. Himekawa tensed as she slowly stood. Hikari was standing behind her, the two grasping each others' hands. Hikari and Ms. Himekawa opened their eyes, but nothing was behind their eyelids but light.
"Maki…" the young man said as he stepped forward.
"Hikari…" Daisuke walked to Hikari.
"Connection-" the two said in unison, "is made."
Ms. Himekawa lifted her hand and seemed to inspect it. She turned her head to Hikari and then looked to Mr. Nishijima.
"Are you ok?" Mr. Nishijima asked as he pushed towards Ms. Himekawa.
"It's all here, Daigo-" the two women said together. "Everything, I can't even explain-"
"Maki, remember, you promised, please!" Mr. Nishijima said.
The woman's head turned and looked at Mr. Nishijima. She turned and looked to the children and the digimon. She reached up and pointed to the door of the office.
"Connection is made-" The two said together and then there was a flash of light. The two were gone.
"HIKARI!" Daisuke shouted.
"Dammit Maki!" Daigo growled.
"The door…" Iori said the little boy pointed. The fringes of the door were glowing.
Daisuke ran to the door and pulled it open. There was a light. A light so bright that everyone could taste it.
"That's the portal-" Salamon shouted. "I can feel Hikari through there!"
"Then we know what to do!" Daisuke shouted and he turned and leapt into the light. Veemon charged after him.
"WAIT!" Ken shouted, but it was too late. The boy furrowed his brow.
"Do we go?" Miyako asked.
"We don't have much choice now-" Takeru said loudly as he and Patamon ran towards the light.
Iori and Armadillomon ran after him. Ken watched as Miyako and Hawkmon rush into the white void. Ken frowned and looked over to Mr. Nishijima.
"We'll bring everyone back." Ken said as he looked down to Wormmon.
"I'll stay back, then, just in case there are any questions." Mr. Nishijima said, frowning. "Just don't die…"
"I can't make any promises, but, Daisuke, he's the stuff of miracles." Ken said as he looked to the light and ran towards it. He and Wormmon leapt into the light.
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AN: Progress! I am super hoping you guys are enjoying this story. I finally feel a bit of momentum building so…hopefully this portends good things!